The High Court of Lagos State will be on its 2025 Christmas vacation from 24 December to 2 January, 2026, the Lagos State Judiciary said in a circular dated 26 November.
The notice, signed by Chief Registrar Tajudeen Elias, said the break was approved by Chief Judge Kazeem Alogba “pursuant to Order 49 Rule 4 (C) and 5 of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019.”
Normal court business will resume on Monday, 5 January, 2026, the circular said. But the judiciary stressed that the break will not leave the public without help for urgent matters.
The notice said arrangements have been made so judges can hear emergency cases during the vacation.
“Each judge will deal with all urgent applications related to any substantive cause already assigned to them,” the circular said.
It added that “any urgent application, where the substantive case has not been assigned, will be handled by the judge to whom the application is specifically assigned.”
The circular made clear that “Notwithstanding the provisions of Order 49 Rule 4, any cause or matter may be heard by a judge during the Christmas vacation if it is urgent,” but it warned that such hearings will only go ahead if the conditions in Order 49 Rule 5 are met.
The Lagos notice follows similar moves by other courts, which have published vacation rosters so emergency hearings — such as injunctions, custody disputes and fundamental-rights cases — can still be heard.
Court administrators asked lawyers and the public to check official registries or court websites for the names of vacation judges and procedures for filing urgent applications during the break.
